Racks interconnected to the vehicle's roof or hood provide additional storage space on motor vehicles. The storage space racks provide allow the area inside the vehicle to be used for additional in-vehicle storage or passenger seating. Many owners take their vehicles off-road and wish to bring tools and other items they may need on their journey, such as shovels, axes, vehicle jacks, tents, awnings, etc. However, it may not be possible or feasible to store these items inside the vehicle due to interior space limitations. Moreover, the owner may not want to store soiled tools in their vehicle, and must store these items on the vehicle exterior. One particular storage location is the roof rack, but tool storage on the roof rack is not ideal due to space limitations. To address this issue, brackets adapted to secure tools and other items often used in off-road excursions to the roof rack may be provided.
U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2005/0082326 (“the '326 application”), which is incorporated by reference herein, shows an example of a roof rack bracket. More specifically, FIGS. 1-3 show a bracket 2 disclosed in the '326 application that is adapted to interconnect with a vehicle rack 4. The bracket 2 includes an upper portion 6 having a hook 10 that engages an upper rack portion 14, i.e., an upper tubular member of the vehicle rack. The upper portion 6 is also interconnected to a lower portion 18 that is interconnected to a lower rack portion 22, i.e., a lower tubular member. The lower clamp portion 22 also includes a hook 26 for engagement to the lower rack portion 22. The upper portion 6 and the lower portion 18 are interconnected by way of a plurality of bolts 30 secured with nuts 34. The upper portion 6 includes an upper support 38 for securing an item, such as the axe 44, and a lower support portion 48 for securing an item, such as a shovel 52. The tools stored on the upper and lower supports are maintained by a retention plate 56 that interfaces with a surface of the tool. The retention plate 56 is received on a threaded shank 58 associated with the upper portion 6. The retention plate 56 is held in place by a knob 60 threateningly engaged onto the threaded shank 58. The retention plate 56 is biased by a spring 68 so the retention plate 56 is normally positioned away from the upper portion 6.
The bracket 2 has a variety of drawbacks. For example, if the space between the upper rack portion 14 and the lower rack portion 22 is minimal, which is common in many low-profile vehicle racks, it is difficult to access and engage the bolts 30 necessary to secure the top portion 6 to the lower portion 18. In addition, if a user can attach both bracket portions, it is difficult to remove or move the attached bracket because of this access issue.